FC Maunce
FC Maunce is an association football club based on the island of Great Maunce, located off the coast of Wolsey. The club plays their football in the Kemburger Second Division, known by Kemburgers as the Second Division. The club was formed in 1986, by several of the few citizens residing on the Maunces that wanted a football club. In an amateur playoff several months after their foundation, the club gained promotion to the Second Division. They quickly were relegated, however ten years later in 1996 were promoted by another amateur playoff. Ever since their promotion, they have remained in the Second Division and have never gained promotion to the First Division, despite building a good squad. In the Philip II Cup, the club's highest finish was in 2006, where they beat the likes of Cimbrania F.C. and Avaley Park FC to reach the semi-finals, before being knocked out by Peterham United, who ended up as champions of the competition. The club based on Great Maunce wear a green and white shirt to represent the environmental aspects of the Maunce islands. The club play at the Maunces Local Stadium, which was known as the Maunce Stadium before the club secured a sponsorship deal with the local newspaper, "Maunces Local". The team stadium is located next to a cricket pitch, which is rented out by the club for the locals, and used by the Maunces Cricket Club. The football pitch was joined on to the cricket pitch before the club gained promotion to the Second Division by the amateur playoff in 1986, as the club were required to erect a dividing fence in order to meet the requirements of the Second Division. History FC Maunce was founded in 1986 by several of the few citizens residing on the Maunces that were interested in forming a football club to represent the islands. The club built up a squad of players on a very low wage, however they were promised higher wages if they won the amateur play-off in 1986 in order to play in the 1986-1987 Second Division season. The club were relegated on their first season in the division, and many players were sold or released to other clubs. The club approached free agents from several different amateur clubs, resulting in a rise of population on Great Maunce. These players were of a lesser standard than the ones that played in the 1986 amateur playoff, and FC Maunce could not win another amateur playoff until 1996, when they were once again promoted to the Second Division. On their first season in the league, they were close to another promotion to the First Division, but narrowly missed the opportunity. After a good first season in the Second Division, the club surprisingly finished in a low position the following season. FC Maunce had several more poor seasons, before becoming a mid-table team in the Second Division. The club was owned by the same three owners who owned an equal (33.3%) share of FC Maunce until 2001, when all three owners passed away. A vote was held by the locals on who should own the football club, and it was decided that the new owner was one of the former owner's son, Jack Mance. He was moderately rich, and invested money into the club growing FC Maunce into a top-six finisher. In 2006, the club held an impressive First Division promotion bid. Jack Mance, the club's owner, who was now the age of 32 invested more money into the club, and several new players signed for the club. The club managed to reach the quarter-finals of the reputable Philip II Cup, and beating the likes of Avaley Park FC and Cimbrania FC before being knocked out in a 2-1 defeat by Peterham United, who went on to win the competition that year. The club narrowly missed out on promotion, finishing in third place by just 1 point. After the unfortunate loss, the owner didn't invest much more money into the club for several years. Colours and crest FC Maunce have generally worn a green and white striped shirt to represent the environmental aspects of the Maunce islands. Their shorts and stockings have also usually been green, with the exception of two years when they were white. The club badge is predominantly green, with a blue sea located in the middle. In the blue sea is the two Maunce islands, which are coloured in a lighter green colour. The club logo has changed once since its foundation, in 1996 following the club's promotion to the Second Division. Stadium FC Maunce have always played their home games at what was originally called the Maunce Stadium. In 2007, following the club's impressive bid for a promotion the previous season, FC Maunce announced they had secured a sponsorship deal with local newspaper, Maunces Local, resulting in the Maunces Stadium to be renamed to the Maunces Local Stadium for another ten years, with the option of a renewal. The stadium has a maximum capacity of 320, with a seating capacity of 80. The ground was built as a multi-sport stadium in 1976 to provide sporting activities for the local citizens. There was a football pitch, and a cricket pitch. The stadium was bought by FC Maunce in 1986, to use in their home games among the club's foundation. After the club's promotion to the Kemburger Second Division several months after their foundation, a dividing fence was erected splitting the Football pitch and Cricket pitch. The cricket pitch is also owned by the football club, however rented out to the Maunces Cricket Club and locals. The largest stand in the Maunces Local Stadium is the West Stand, which has a capacity of 100, and a seating capacity of 24. The smallest stand is the South Stand, which has a capacity of just 60, and a seating capacity of 11. The other two stands both have a capacity of 80, and have seating capacities of 23 and 22. Supporters The average attendance at the Maunces Local Stadium was 80 in the 2012-13 Second Division season, the least out of all twelve teams competing in the league. The largest ever attendance at the Maunces Local Stadium was in a 2007 quarter-final match in the Philip II Cup, whereby the stadium was filled up with all 320 seats taken. This is because all locals were advised to attend the "one in a lifetime" match, as it was expected and still is that FC Maunce will never reach the quarter-finals of a Philip II Cup again. The club does not have a supporters club, as there is only 460 citizens residing on Great Maunce, and even fewer on Little Maunce. Many have suggested the formation of a supporters club, however none have been formed due to the lack of need. The main rivals for FC Maunce are Wolsey Athletic, as there is no other football club located on the Maunces. Wolsey Athletic has the closest stadium to FC Maunce's than any other football club, and therefore have grown a rivalry. Despite being rivals, there is no/very few fighting or chants during matches between the two rivals. Tanisbury United are also considered rivals, due to being the second nearest football club to FC Maunce. Current squad The current FC Maunce squad consists of 12 players, not including the non-listed thirteen youth and reserve players. The team captain is tbd, and the vice-captain is Straslander midfielder tbd. |} Managers Having only been in existance since 1986, the club have not had many managers. The longest serving manager for FC Maunce was Chris Mance, the owner's brother who managed the club for 6 years. The shortest serving manager was Andrew Kane, who managed the club for just 2 months before being sacked because of poor league results. Category:Football club Category:Second Division